


The Child of the Forest

by Yrindor



Series: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics 2016 Fills [57]
Category: Free!, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Abandonment, Adoptive Parent Sugawara Koushi, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Blind Nitori Aiichirou, Child Nitori Aiichirou, Crossover, Gen, Prompt Fic, SASO 2016, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-07-28 12:51:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7640941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What's a Papa?" the child asked, and Suga felt his heart squeeze in his chest.</p><p>"A Papa's kind of like a Mama."</p><p>"I don't think I have one of those.  If I came with you, would that make you my Papa?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Child of the Forest

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Sports Anime Shipping Olympics Bonus Round 5: Myth & Lore. Also fills the "crossover" square for Trope Bingo round 7.

Suga knew the forest like he knew himself, perhaps even better than he knew himself. He knew every stream that ran through the trees, every hill that rose gently underfoot. He knew every creature that lived there, and noticed whenever others passed through.

He was tied to the forest, so he noticed when there was a lone child wandering near the edges one morning. Curious, he left his small cabin and walked down familiar paths until he found them. The child couldn't have been more than five; his silver hair matched Suga's, and he didn't seem particularly upset to be wandering in the forest with no one else in sight.

"Are you lost, child?" Suga asked as he knelt beside the young boy.

The boy shook his head. "Mama doesn't like it when I talk about things she can't see. She said she'd kill me if I went home again, so I'm supposed to stay here now."

The child looked up at Suga as he spoke. His eyes were pale and unseeing; they reminded Suga of the sky on an overcast day.

"They like you," the boy said, reaching out toward Suga's face. "Can you see them?"

"What do you see?"

"The wisps. I can never touch them, but they're everywhere. There are a bunch gathered by you right now. Can you not see them?

"I can't," Suga admitted, "but I believe you. The Sight is a rare gift." It was perhaps an understatement to call it rare, Suga thought. The Sight was a rare gift among most of the fey; it was unheard of among humans.

"A gift?" the boy asked hesitantly. "I can't see anything else, so everyone always said it was a curse. Mama told me not to talk about it, but it's hard when they're everywhere."

Suga allowed himself a rare moment of anger at the ignorance that had caused an entire village to abandon a child with a gift many would kill for. "They were wrong," he said. "You have a strong gift in the Sight, and it will serve you well. Do you have a name, child?"

"When Mama's mad, she calls me Nitori Aiichirou, but everyone else just calls me Ai."

"It's nice to meet you, Ai. Is there anyone who's going to come looking for you?"

Ai shook his head. "Just Mama, but she told me not to come back."

"Do you have a Papa, or any other family?" Suga asked.

"What's a Papa?" the child replied, and Suga felt his heart squeeze in his chest.

"A Papa is like a Mama. You need a Papa and a Mama to make a child, but they don't always both stay, and sometimes you have people like Grandmas and Uncles who take over once the child is born."

"I don't think I have a Papa," Nitori said, "or any of those other things. Just Mama."

"In that case, would you like to come back with me? I have a house in the forest here, and I'd be happy to have you stay with me. This is a lovely forest, but it's not really a place for a child to stay alone."

"Does that mean you'd be my Papa?" Nitori asked.

"I could be, if you wanted," Suga said past the lump that formed suddenly in his throat.

"I want to come with you, Papa. There are lots of wispy things in here, and they all seem to like you."

"There are others in the forest who have the Sight like you; I'm sure they'd be willing to show you even more if I asked."

"Please, Papa?" Nitori asked as he took Suga's hand.

"Of course, Ai," Suga replied. They walked through the forest hand-in-hand, and to Suga it felt like something that was meant to be.

The warm feeling that had been growing in his heart all morning only grew when they arrived back at his small house and he introduced Nitori to his dog. Shiro was larger than the child, but that didn't seem to stop them from becoming fast friends. When Suga went to offer Nitori breakfast later that morning, he found the child curled up alongside Shiro, his small hands curled in Shiro's thick fur.

Suga smiled and set the plate of food aside for later. He had never intended to become a parent, but now that it had happened, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.


End file.
